WSUP is making a difference to the lives of the urban poor - Suzy's story

Mar 2013

Ghana

Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor
(WSUP) is a non-profit partnership between
the private sector, NGOs and research
institutions focused on solving the global
problem of inadequate water and sanitation
in low-income urban communities.
Borouge and Borealis became members
of WSUP in 2007 as part of their “Water for
the World” initiative.

In the Kotei district of Kumasi, Ghana, there
was no main water supply and people had
to collect water from unapproved and
unregulated independent water suppliers.
It usually fell to school children who spent
many hours each day fetching water for
their homes and schools. Collecting water
usually took priority over study, resulting
in low school performance levels and high
school drop-out rates, especially for girls.
In this story 12 year old Suzy Pokkuaa
describes the impact of the building of
new standpipes as part of the Oforikom
programme, which is supported by WSUP.

Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor
(WSUP) is a non-profit partnership between the
private sector, NGOs and research institutions
focused on solving the global problem of
inadequate water and sanitation in low-income
urban communities. Borouge and Borealis
became members of WSUP in 2007 as part
of their “Water for the World” initiative in order
to help them make a real difference to these
people’s lives.

Kumasi is the capital city of the Ashanti region,
which is a very important and historical centre
for Ghana and is visited by many tourists each
year. However like many cities in Africa there are
many poor communities living outside the city
centre where basic services such as water and
sanitation are sub-standard. One example in
Kumasi is the urban area of Kotei where water
supply presented a major challenge for the entire
community. Until recently, there was no water
supplied to Kotei by Kumasi’s main water utility,
which meant that the community was forced to
use water from unapproved and unregulated
independent water suppliers.

Suzy’s education suffers because she spent many hours collecting water

School children spent many hours each day
fetching water for their homes and schools as the
suppliers are often located some distance away.
Collecting water often takes priority over study,
resulting in low school performance levels and
high school drop-out rates, especially for girls.
Twelve year old Suzy Pokkuaa is a student at
Kotei Roman Catholic Basic School, one of the
locations selected for a new standpipe as part of
the Oforikom programme, which is supported by
Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor (WSUP).

“

I live with my parents and my four brothers and
one sister. We don’t have a water pipe at our
house so we have to walk to a pipe to collect the
water we need. My sister and youngest brother
and I collect the water every day after school.

Suzy Pokkuaa —Student at Kotei Roman Catholic Basic School

"The walk to the pipe is 15 minutes and we go
three times. It takes two hours - it’s very long,
but I don’t complain because we need the water
to bath and cook. I must fetch the water before I
start my homework. Sometimes I don’t start my
homework until eight o’clock in the evening. It’s
very late and I’m tired, so I find my homework
difficult. I also must collect water when I’m at
school from the Church nearby."

“

I fetch the water
when the teacher asks me, which is usually
every day. I will be happy when the new pipe
at the school is working so I can focus on my
school work.

Suzy Pokkuaa —Student at Kotei Roman Catholic Basic School

A brighter future for Suzy and her brothers and sisters

As part of the African Cities for the Future (ACF)
program, WSUP worked with the main water
utility in Kumasi to provide a 50 cubic metre highlevel
tank in Kotei. The tank distributes water
from two mechanized bore holes and there are
eight public stand pipes located throughout the
community. The locations of the public stand
pipes were selected with the assistance of the
community and are well distributed throughout
Kotei to ensure that everyone in the community
can access water conveniently. The new
standpipes greatly improve the community’s
access to clean and safe water and reduce the
amount of time school children spend fetching
water both at school and at home – which will
greatly help them with their education.